Killing machines?
by monkiimax
Summary: TWO-SHOTS. Clove and Cato are from district 2. They were trained to kill and win for their dristicts. But they are human as well? They are teenager as well. They have feelings and also dreams. They are just humans and they want to survivce too
1. Volunteering equals killing

**Cloves´s POV**

I was walking with the rest of the academy students with my head up. I was going to be tribute this year. I was meant to be. My fighting skills were one of the best between the girls and I was even better than some of the older boys. I smiled at myself as I keep walking between girls of my same age that looked worried. They shouldn´t have been. I was going to be this year winner. Suddenly I felt a strong hand pulling me back. I was about to respond it with a hit when I noticed it was Cato.

"What do you want Cato?" I asked pretty annoyed; I didn´t like him being around me in public. Okay, he was my friend and everything but no one could know it. If they knew we were friends it would show weakness and then the rest if the students would eat us alive. Love and friendship was something forbidden in the academy.

"I heard you are volunteering." he said. He looked pretty upset too but then I noticed that his eyes showed something else. I didn´t took the take the find out what those two enormous eyes were trying to tell me.

"Yes I am. Now let me go. I want t a good place so when I volunteer everyone is going to be able to see me." After I said that I turned around and tried to walk away. Cato stopped me again.

"You can´t do it."

"Why not?"

"Because I am volunteering too."

That took me by surprise and for I moment I lost my angry and serious grin. I turned around to see him and bit my lip. I was trying to figure out if he was serious or if he just wanted to stop me for going to the games. When my eyes met his I knew he was serious.

"I don´t want to kill you and we can´t win both." He continued. I looked down as I noticed some of my fighting mates watching over us and winking over me. I was so embarrassed. I changed my grind to the usual one and pushed Cato aside. Maybe he was the bigger than me but I was strong enough to at least make him take some steps back. I didn´t want to talk anymore. But he hadn´t finished. "Please, for this time don´t volunteer."

"I have a better idea, this year YOU don´t volunteer." I answered with a cold tone of voice. He kind of laughed.

"Because if I don´t volunteer Tronk is going to and he will have no mercy with you. He is stronger than me and he kind of hates you after you broke his nose two years ago." In my mind I laughed when I remembered that day. He had screamed at me ugly rat and I had fought back. I broke his nose and also his favorite arc. He never told me that nickname again but he didn´t spoke to me either. "And by what I know, if you don´t volunteer no one else will and the tribute can´t be better than me."

I raised an eye brown skeptical. Damn it, Cato could be such a big head some times. I looked over me feet and thought about it for some seconds. Maybe it wasn´t such a bad after all.

One extra year meant more training and more chances of winning. And if Cato won we would end up living as neighbors. That sounded cool.

"So are you going to wait until next year?" he asked me. I nodded and then ran toward my place without looking back. I could feel him smile at me.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"First the ladies." said the selector with his joyful voice. I was standing proud and with my serious grin as always. I was confident. I was… "Clove Tenderwick."

I gasped surprised. No; that wasn´t the plan. I was going to wait and this was Cato´s year. I looked around and I noticed how everyone was clapping at me. Cheering me up and pushing me toward the podium. I walked there like if I was in a dream. I stood in front of my district and looked fiercely toward the boy´s section. Cato was looking at me with his mouth opened in shock.

"Any volunteer?" said the selector. I was fighting to get some air and to keep my face cold and secure. Cato was right; no one volunteer.

"So let's continue with the boys." Had hand left my shoulder and walked over the bowl where he picked a name. I didn´t hear it. I was too in deep my thoughts to pay attention. The only moment I returned to reality was when I heard Cato´s voice screaming. He was volunteering.

I opened my eyes and watched him run toward the stage. Everyone cheered him too and he smiled and waved at them. After that he turned to shake my hand and then I noticed that the smile he had given the audience was a false one and the one he was giving to me was the true one. He had volunteer to save me. Now I understood it and all I wanted to do was punch him in the face. For God´s sake; it was practically what we were trying to avoid!

.-.-.-.

When we were in the train we were finally able to have a one to one moment. There I slapped Cato as hard as I could. He laughed like if it hadn´t hurt. I slapped him again and this time he kept quiet.

"We are going to kill each other you idiot!" I screamed at him as tried to punch him again. Cato held my wrist and pushed me toward the couch. I fought back but he was bigger than me. "let go of me."

"Clove, could you please wait?" he said as he shoved me over and over again until I stood still. After that he continued. "We are not going to die, none of us will."

"How come?" I answered screaming. "24 enter and only one comes out. We are two you dump head!"

He sighed and shocked his head. I know that expression, he was trying to figure out something. "I think, if we are the only two left on the arena maybe they will let us win both. If we prove them we are strong enough and we are worth it maybe they will think about it."

I looked down and bit my lip as I tried to stop the tears. I was aware it was an impossible plan; but Cato seemed so sure about his plan that I didn´t have the guts to tell him the truth. I looked up and nodded. He smiled and let me go at last.

"Think about it Clove, we make an alliance and after we are few left us two kill the rest. With your knives and my straight we can´t fail. We can win."

I looked up and then I was surrounded by two strong arms that left me breathless. Cato was hugging me. It was weird because no one ever hugged me. I never hugged anybody so it was an odd feeling. When Cato let me go I slapped him across the face.

"Why was that for?" he complained.

"Don´t ever do that again on the arena or anywhere else." I warned him. "If we are going to make this work we have to be enemies until the end of the games. If we get to the final day, then we will be allies."

"Clove." He laughed again. "We are going to be the winners; don´t doubt about it."


	2. Redemption and honor to the fallen

**CATO POV**

I threw another wood to the fire before sitting next to Clove. We were the last integrants of our alliance and even though we were weak before the lack of food we were still the strongest at the arena. I stared at the fire as I heard the wood crack; Clove was throwing her knives to the floor bored. It couldn´t be more than midnight but neither of us was tired.

"How many are left?" I asked as I tried to make conversation.

"6 including us, but no one to worry about." She answered coldly. That was the way we had acted between each other since the train. I had kept my promise of acting cool with her as if I didn´t cared and she had respected the alliance not trying to kill me. I appreciated that knowing her temper.

Suddenly the sound of a canyon made the two of us look up to the sky. They weren´t announcing any death, they were announcing something else; something more important.

"_For only time in the hunger games, this year, instead of only one winner, two tributes are going to be able to win. This rule only applies if both tributes are from the same district. This will be the only announcement_."

I didn´t catch the whole message instantly. For some seconds I just stood there trying to figure out if that was any kind of joke or lie. I turned around to see Clove and when I found her also in shock I realized that it had been real. I had been right! I knew it!

I jumped out of my seat and hugged Clove as hard as I could as I tried at the same time not to hurt her. "I told you we could win together!" I screamed at her. I didn´t care if other tributes could hear me or see out fire; we were stronger and now we could be the winner. I started laughing out of nowhere.

"Of course not, stupid head!" she screamed back as she pushed me. She seemed angry and that surprised me. "This year is no different between the others. I knew these people Cato; you know this people!"

"I don´t understand…" I started but Clove cut me off.

"Of course you don´t, after all you are all muscles and no neurons!" she stood up and gave me her back as she passed her fingers through her thick black hair. I didn´t feel offended by the nicknames, I was used to it from her. After all, in this friendship she was the brains and I was the muscles; just the way she had said. "I am sorry."

Now, that was weird. She never apologized.

"Don´t worry." I was looking at her worried. She looked so little at the light of the fire.

"No, it is not okay. I shouldn´t be so mean to you. It is just that I am worried of what might happen at the end." Her voice had gone from pitchy and angry to soft and low. "I know this rule is just a trap but not for us." I raised my eye brown confused. She turned around and sat next to me again. "This is for the _tragic lovers, _the Capitolium wants to give a good show and they are what viewers like; love and drama. We are just the obstacles between their love."

I took a big breathe and then I hit some dirt to the fire turning it off. Clove watched me confused but didn´t moved from her place. "Not anymore." I said as I took my sword and passed her the knives. "From now on we are going to be the protagonist of this story!" I offered her my hand and when she took it I pulled her up. "From now on, we are allies."

She giggled as she looked to another way. After some moments she turned around again to see me and then shock my hand. "Not allies; from now on we are fighting as friends."

* * *

><p><strong>CLOVE POV<strong>

I woke up being surrounded by Cato´s big arms. I sighed as I cuddled between his arms. I didn´t want to wake him up but I knew we had to get going. We needed to find the others and end this as quickly as possible.

"Cato, wake up." I said to him as I put his arm aside and stretch. Cato said something between dreams but didn´t move. I sighed and punched him in the arm as hard as I could. He complained but he did wake up.

"You don´t have to be so aggressive, you know?" he said making me laugh. Of course I had to be aggressive, he wasn´t what you would call a light sleeper.

"Let´s get going."

We walked all day and, even though we found a rabbit (which I killed), we didn´t found any other tribute. When the night fell we were both hungry and grumpy. It seemed that at this point of the game straight wasn´t the main point anymore.

"I think this is a good place to sleep." said Cato as he let out bags fall to the floor and then started collecting some wood.

I sighed and let myself fall to the ground. I was so tired and hungry I was starting to feel dizzy. I put my hand under my head and I closed my eyes. I was tired but not sleepy. Since the lost of our food the paranoia of the games had increased making the sleeping hard. I didn´t knew if the same was happening to Cato but in my case the paranoia was starting to drive me mad. I felt eyes over me all the time and I couldn´t help to be scared.

"Is everything all right?" he asked me as he sat next to me and took my hair off my face. I sighed and hugged myself without answering. "I know it is not." he said and again I didn´t answer. How to explain something I didn´t even understand? That was something that wasn´t taught at the academy; expressing feelings. "Aren´t you going to tell me what´s wrong?"

I shocked my head and then he stood quiet. In that moment that was all I needed. To be quiet and just feel him near me. For a moment, that simple human touch was enough to calm the paranoia and the fear.

"We are going to finish this together, right?" I asked from nowhere.

"Of course we are."

"And if the rules change again and there can only be one winner?"

"It wouldn´t matter." He yawned and laid his head over my shoulder. I didn´t moved. "We would make them change the rules again."

I smiled to myself; for a weird reason this time I really believed in what Cato was telling me.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato´s POV<strong>

"Cato!" she screamed as I ran through the forest with my sword unfolded. I could barely breathe because of the effort but still I knew I couldn´t stop or go slower. "Cato!" her screams were filled with terror and pain. I hit my face with branch but that didn´t stop me. "Cato!"

It was her last scream. When I got to the banquet there was no one else there. It was quiet and the only thing in there was Clove and our bag on the table. I bit my lip as I walked over her slowly. I let my sword fall to the grass and I keep walking. I knew we were alone so no one was going to attack me. Plus, everyone was so scared of me I found the possibility of a confrontation pretty impossible.

I kneeled before Clove and watched her with empty eyes. Her eyes were steady and from her head the blood was pouring uncontrollably. I gasped horrified but then I realized that I had done the same to at least 12 other people. "Clove?" I asked so low I found impossible for the cameras to hear me. "No."

I knew Katniss and the others were already gone and I knew they had arrived in first place because their bags were gone. I knew also that fox-face hadn´t killed Clove but I wasn´t so sure if it had been the other two. For a moment I thought about an alliance between both but then I realized Katniss already had Peeta so he had absolutely no clue who I would had to torture and kill first.

I whipped a tear that escaped from my eyes and then I hit her chest hard; and when I said hard I meant it.

"Why did you leave?" I screamed as I punched her over and over again. "You promised me to finish this together. You are a liar!" I couldn´t control myself. I was an animal. I was hurting the only person I really cared. "Wake up!"

Several of her ribs broke in that moment making me stop. I lay my head over her body and let some tears fall. When I raised my eyes I noticed her dead eyes looking at nowhere. It was horrible. I didn´t knew what I should do because I never went to a funeral or seen a dead before the games; all I knew was that she looked prettier when she was sleeping. I closed her eyes and then I put the helping bag under her head like if it was a pillow.

The bomb made me turn around and see Clove one more time. The helicopter that picked up the bodies had to be near so I had to be quick. I took of my jacket and covered her face. I didn´t want the cameras to keep looking at her. I didn´t want her dead to be on air. At that moment I wanted whole Panem to have some respect over her death.

I stood up and started shouting at the sky where I knew cameras were airing everything that had happened, was happening and would happen on the next hours and days.

"Are you laughing? Are you happy now?" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Are you still enjoying this? Watching your own children die?" I wasn´t sure if anyone would really take me seriously or if they had already cut me form air, but I kept screaming and finally telling what everyone was thinking. "She is sixteen years old! She is a baby and now she is dead. I killed a 12 year old boy that was just trying to survive. I accept it, I am as a monster as you are but this is my redemption! I am sorry!" tears were falling from my eyes as my voice became more excited and louder. "I am sorry for killing all those kids but it is not my entire fault. It is the fault of the government of district one and two for training us for this. I know it is half my fault for doing it but; why, if you have already taken our humanity, you want us to lose the only thing we care about?"

I let himself fall to the floor and then, giving Clove a last peek, I accepted something that we had tried to deny for so many years. "She is my best friend! I love her and now she is gone! I might never get her back but I know something. This year will be the last of the hunger games! You are not going to win this time! This time the real winner will be us! The fallen and standing tributes will be the winners because, I am not silent anymore; I am not a tribute anymore; I am not a career or anything else." I paused for some seconds as I tried to catch my breath again. "I am Cato! And I will win this not for me, for the district or for Panem. This time, I am winning for Clove!"

I never knew that none of speech had been on air because of the love scene between Katniss and Peeta.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Even though I am pretty much no one is reading this, if you did enjoy it please review. There will be a epiloge but I would really appreciate if you left your coments and opinions about it. Thank you and happy spring break! (At least it is the begging of it in México)<strong>_


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